Midway through December I went to lunch with a woman and we discussed reading. Because she asked, I shared that I had always loved reading. I carried a book with me everywhere growing up. (I still do that.) I won a reading contest in elementary school. I read the backs of the bottles in the shower and all the signs hung up in public bathrooms. Words have always fascinated me.1
Reading takes discipline for me but it’s also a great love. It’s easy for me to choose to read most of the time. I can tell instinctively when my reading habits are off and I need to make adjustments. I have stacks of books that I’m waiting to read and I don’t hesitate to DNF a book because there are so many exciting ones waiting.
I know people who read far more than me this year and people who logged ten books. Some of those people who read ten books should celebrate a major accomplishment.2 Reading is not a contest, contrary to what elementary-aged me thought. Reading is a gift. Reading helps us grow. Reading can be fun. So however much you read, celebrate it.
Just like last year, it was simple to go through my Word doc of what I’ve read this year and highlight my favorites.3 If I deliberated over it, it didn’t make the cut.4 This is a mix of everything; I haven’t sorted fiction from nonfiction or tried to even out the list in any way.5 They are listed in the order I read them.
Not all of the books on the list are pictured above.
The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
I borrowed this book from a friend but ended up buying my own. I enjoy hosting so it was valuable simply for that, but I also will use these concepts for work.Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston
This is now easily one of my favorite novels. She writes the speech of the characters in dialect but I found it was easy to read once I got into a flow. I was arrested.The Pastor as a Minor Poet by M. Craig Barnes
This was a book for my pastoral methods class and it’s one that I will pick up again. If you’re in ministry, it’s worth your time.You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith (grand prize winner here!)
This is easily my favorite book of the year. I’ve recommended it to so many people. It’s a beautiful telling of a marriage falling apart and a life being rebuilt.The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
This character-driven book had me riveted. It told the story using flashbacks and I loved it.Tell Her Story by Nijay Gupta
Gupta goes back through the women of early Christianity reflecting first on broader themes of culture and women in the life of Jesus to zeroing in on Phoebe and Pricilla and Junia. An excellent read!Disability and the Church by Lamar Hardwick
Hardwick is an autistic pastor who talks about the church’s approach to disability and how we could better reflect the kingdom of God in our churches.6Brown Church by Robert Chao Romero
This book is an addition to church history that you probably didn’t know you needed. I’d always suggest adding this, The Color of Compromise, and Women in the Mission of the Church to any typical church history curriculum.Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Did I really need to read a dystopian novel of a post-pandemic world while I was at the beach? Maybe not. Nevertheless I did and it was great.Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Kevin
This book centered on friends who are not ever lovers is both about and not about video games. Beautiful story-telling.How to Stay Married by Harrison Scott Key
You can read a review here.Stained Glass Ceilings by Lisa Weaver Swartz
You can read a review here.Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
You can read about this book here.Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard
This collection of essays by Dillard is at times weird but at all times excellent. She has a lengthy essay comparing church to expeditions to the South Pole, several reflections on the Galápagos Islands, and closer-to-home stories of her life in Virginia.
Honorable Mention
The Color Purple
Middlemarch
Create Anyway
Share your favorite book(s) from 2023!
The same is true with writing words.
If you don’t love to read but you’ve disciplined yourself to read, that is a great accomplishment!
This is how I keep track of my reading. I used to record it on Instagram and save them all as a highlight but I got tired of that. I simply can’t start another app like Goodreads. So it’s a Word doc that works for me.
This is the very precise selection method that I use.
Some people put this list out in the beginning of December but I don’t like to do that. Nobody’s Mother was a December read. However, I will catch up on my December reads and while I’m enjoying what I’m reading currently, I can tell that none of them would shift the list of favorites.
He has a new book coming out in February!
I bought How to stay married and you could make this place beautiful because of your recommendation. They were so so good
Some of my favorites:
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, Gabrielle Zevin
Bomb Shelter, Mary Laura Philpott
The Things We Cannot Say, Kelly Rimmer
Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne
Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad, ed. Ned Bustard
All Who Are Weary, Sarah J. Hauser
A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman
Thanks for sharing yours!